The Princes Of 80’s Pop

When I think of music that is retro and classic beyond compare, David Bowie is often one of the first names that come to my mind. This trippy album cover photo comes to us from Carla216 .

If you don’t love David Bowie then you clearly haven’t listened to his music closely enough, or maybe you haven’t listened to the right song he’s performed. I first got into his music when I saw it and his acting performance as the Goblin King in the movie Labyrinth (which was an awesome collaborative effort featuring the work of master puppeteer Jim Henson and the acting chops of a young Jennifer Connelly). Personally I think there may have been one or two of his songs that didn’t instantly make me love them but then they would quickly grow on me after getting under my skin. But if you want to consider some of his retro (and classic) pieces of music as something creepy and crawly that gets under your skin, then it’s the infectious disease that you really don’t mind getting!

I think the fact that David Bowie is such a humble person and so unafraid and unashamed to bring attention to his physical flaws (such as his permanently dilated pupil and slightly asymmetrical eyes which are very exaggerated in this photo) is the kind of attitude that our more contemporary pop artists in the music industry should seriously try to emulate. In fact I can remember there was some minor debate among some of the tabloid magazines during the height of his popularity which was focused on his appearance, whether he had surgically altered his face or not purely for creating an image. This was of course quickly proven to be false and likely only made him and his music that much more popular. I personally think he is one of the best live performers (something you don’t see often these days without computers to assist the pop starlets weak voices!) and has one of the best attitudes about the way he approaches the business.

The voice of Freddie Mercury is absolutely iconic for music from the 1980’s. If you’ve ever heard “Bohemian Rhapsody” then you completely know where I’m coming from without question. That epic song features some intensely heart felt lyrics that seem to tell a very specific story but still touch base on some very universal emotions that many people of all walks of life could identify with. I think the song that I’ll remember them the most for is probably “Under Pressure” which was also a collaborative effort with David Bowie providing vocals along with Freddie Mercury. I think the rising action and climax of the song with the chorus at the end is really poignant and hits home; it’s enough to make a grown man cry shamelessly!